TS 

.Ms- 



■■-. A SYSTEM 



ESTIIVEATINO 



FOR 



H 



OUNDP WO 



By a. M esse RSCH mitt. 



Translated and Adapted to American Practice, 
By GEO. L. FOWLEIi, M. E. 




T7IE American' ENGmEEi^. 

1 nn?, V 



^ 



STEAM USING; 

OR, 

Steam Engine practice. 

By the Late CHARLES A. SMITH, C. E., Professor of 
Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, Mo. 

A handsDmely hnund actavn volumB nf 
aDD pages and aver SLID illustratlnns, 

CONTENTS. 

CHAP. I, On the Nature of Heat and the Prop- 
erties of Steam. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



• Shelf j-MJ..,. 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



patent authority on the use of steam. 



: might 

r Dia- 
sses of 

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Price, 

Steam Making, 



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2.50. 



J8sr 'Wb AA/ill send StBam Using to any ad- 
dress and the American Engineer^ nne 
year, for - - - $5,5D 

Address THE AMERICAN ENGINEER, 

126 Washington St., Chicago. 



opinions of tha frs.ss. 



"Steam Making" is a thoroughly good work. It treats of the 
nature of heat, has some excellent remarks upon the proper- 
ties of steam, treats the greatly mooted subject of combustion 
in a rational manner, and describes the various types of boil- 
ers and discusses their various good or bad points in a thor- 
oughly impartial spirit.— The Locoriiotive. 

"Steam Making" aims to present in condensed form the best 
experience in modern boiler practice. Its treatment of the 
subjects of combustion, firing, design, and construction of 
boilers, and the table of experiments with boilers, show good 
judgment and a broad comprehension of this field of investi- 
gation.— >5ciew^j;/?c American. 

Those in search of an interesting presentation of modern 
boiler practice will find the above work to meet their require- 
ments in a very satisfactory msmner.—Meta Worker. 

The merits of "Steam Making" are its eminently practical 
character and the careful presentation of those fundamental 
principles upon which successful practice depends. — Van 
Notrand's Engineering Magazine. 

The works are thoroughly and completely practical, by an 
eminfc'xidy practical, clear-headed man, and every engineer 
who desires to excel will find here the material carefully col- 
lected by a man thoroughly conversant with his subject.— 
Manufacturers' Gazette. 

In every page of Prof. Smith's work there shines forth evi- 
dence of his thorough grasp of the subject upon which he has 
So ably written ; evidence not merely of his ♦^heoretical knowl- 
edge, but also of his practical acquaintance with the art of 
steam using, combined with painstaking care which was pos- 
sessed by the author. We anticipate they will long remain as 
valuable works of engineering reference. — Mechanical World, 
London, England. 

Young engineers especially, can hardly find more valuable 
assistance in acquiring thorough knowledge of the subject in 
which they are so greatly interested than what may be ob- 
tained from a study of Professor Smith's y/ox]is.— Cincinnati 
Artisan. 

LOVER. J 



A SYSTEM 



ESTIN/lATINa 



FOR 



FOUNDIiY WOUK. 



1 



f 



2- 



^ 



By a. messerschmitt. 



v\ 



Translated and Adapted to American Practice, 
By GEO. L. FOWLER, M. E. 



t -t-J^ is-./ 



CHICAGO : 
THE AMERICAN ENGINEER. 

1885. 







Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1885, by 

THE PROPRIETOES OF THE AMERICAN ENGINEER, 

in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 



Pressor FKED'K WESTON & CO., I7U Jackson Street, Cliicago 



^- '\m 



TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. 



In the translation and compilation of this 
little book, the editor has been guided by his 
own experience, which has shown that the sys- 
tem here laid down is wonderfully accurate 
when close attention is paid to the securing of 
proper data, and to a careful separation of all 
expenses that belong to other departments of 
the establishment. He is aware that he will 
probably be criticized at just this time on 
account of the high rate he has placed upon al 
material and wage expenses; but as it is pointed 
out in the latter part of the work, it is better to 
use illustrations where the expense runs high 
than otherwise, and it is easier to adapt the out- 
line of one of these examples to actual service 
than where the figures are too low. Further- 
more, it may not be out of place to add the 
translator's testimony to that of the author as 
to the efficacy of this method of estimating, and 



that in his practice for some time past he has 
used this system with the greatest satisfaction. 
And if it shall contribute ijj any way to assist 
others in gaining a more perfect knowledge of 
the. condition and workings of the foundries 
committed to their care, his labors as a trans- 
lator and compiler will be amply repaid. 

G. L. f: 

East Saginaw, Mich., Dec. 1, 1884. 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction 7 

The Methods of Calculation, 10 

The Estimate of Values 13 

Depeeciation and Interest, 25 

Pattern-making, 29 

The Contract Formula, ..... 33 

The Balance, . 47 

The Business, .... . . . 50 

The Books, 67 

Example of an Estimate when a Moulding Ma- 
chine IS Used, 71 

APPENDIX. 

Contracts :— 

Contract with the Foreman Pattern-maker, . 81 

Contract with Cleaners, 83 

Contract with Cupola Workmen, .... 84 



INTRODUCTION. 



How do we make an estimate? We simply 
ascertain all the items that represent the cost, 
add them together and therefrom deduce the 
profit which may belong to the particular de- 
partment under consideration. This matter 
appears very simple and easy to one who is unini- 
tiated. A glance at any quotation of prices, how- 
ever, whether they are of a private or public 
nature, will soon show that there is still con- 
siderable difttculty involved in this same calcula- 
tion; it is not simply because one concern offers 
twice as much for the same price as another, 
although this is not entirely unheard of, that we 
may reasonably ask; "How can these variations 
be possible? Who can make an estimate and who 
cannot?" That such results, which may be seen 
on every hand, are not referable to any differ- 
ences, such as are due to more reasonable prices 
for material, favorable freights and the like, is 
evident even to a layman. For these latter dif- 
ferences are of a very insignificant nature in 
comparison with the actual extraordinary differ- 
ences appearing in the quotations. 

Much has been written and i3rinted, in regard 



to calculations for foundry and machine work, 
but, as yet, no single efficient system has been 
developed, because very much, which may be 
considered as applicable to special factories and 
their interaction upon each other, has been al- 
lowed to remain indistinct. A glance at our 
technical papers gives us copious instructions 
for correct calculations: one shows a diagram 
and marks out the selling price with a curve; 
another comes with his experience and display- 
ing his yearly observations per ton, would use 
these data for the greatest variety of objects. 
The dealers have established a system and laid 
it down with long formulae, which by their very 
complicity prevent an extensive application; yet 
they are used, and, as a result, we come to an 
understanding of the situation, only when busi- 
ness is falling off, and frequently for the first 
time months after it is too late; whereas, we 
could still have derived a good profit if we could 
have known at the time, the result of each day's 
work. 

We cau now see, that a correct method, which 
would display the cost of the foundry products, 
however impossible to and beyond the province 
of the office books, would be very difficult; for it 
should contain every item collected and grouped. 
Were it not so, if there were nothing to be done, 
we would not, in such an enlightened age, be 
astonished by the curious freaks in prices that 
have up to this time made their appearance. The 



difficulty has still another side, as the author will 
show, and it is that though a correct calculation 
is perfectly impossible by means of the regular 
books alone, the technical man can only find the 
proper items for a correct method of estimating 
by means of them; and these, when once estab- 
lished, must come into more and more extensive 
application, whereby the books must give up 
their control after a few isolated rectifications 
have been made. 

In consequence of this imperfect understand- 
ing and application of the method and modes of 
an accurate calculation, it simply follows that very 
many works are unsuccessful and are running 
down, while, if actual lack of work does not lie 
at the root of the matter, they might be raised to 
prosperity by a series of correct estimates. He 
Avho makes his estimates even approximately 
correct, can, to the same degree that they are 
exact, foretell his profits and loss, and the more 
accurate the former are, the better can he tell 
the extent of his business by their assistance, and 
learn to so adjust them, that they remain just 
about so correct, and thus avoid unnecessary 
losses. 

The method of formulating a correct estimate 
and whatever data and results may be deduced 
therefrom, as well as the correctness of the sys- 
tem will now be especially demonstrated in the 
following pages and explained by numerous 
examples taken from practice. 



10 

Tlie author, hoping to commend this undertak- 
ing, by his treatment of the subject, to all those 
that are interested, and that it may meet with 
approval, thinks it not out of place to add that 
his experience, extending over seventeen years, 
has shown his method to be correct. For eight 
years, the author has and still continues to es- 
timate by this system alone, and, without the 
aid of any book except for the sake of reference, 
he has made a monthly statement of the profits 
and losses of the works committed to his charge 
by the aid of this same method; and he has al- 
lowed himself, too, such narrow limits of error, 
that, when the books are taken into considera- 
tion, it has exceeded all expectation for an ap- 
proximate calculation. The whole calculation 
may be performed in a few minutes. 

THE METHODS OF CALCULATION. 

"We estimate upon an object when we ascertain, 
in any known way, the expenses which influence 
its production and what such influences require. 
These latter are not contained in the regular 
books, but are first ascertained by their assistance 
and serve as a basis. 

For the purpose indicated we divide the sub- 
ject into: 

1. The price of pig-iron, together with the 
freights to the place of manufacture, as a leading 
factor in the calculation. 



11 

2. The wages; including those of the sand and 
loam moulders, and core-makers. 

In regard to the manufacture of a given article, 
estimates must be made from different stand- 
points, though the beginner should only depend 
upon such as are founded on experience, as, for 
instance the scale of perfection of the methods 
of labor; ;ind every important variation must be 
subjected to very exact and precise examination, 
since these wages of production are determined 
almost entirely by calculation. 

3. The materials for moulding. These stand 
in the closest relationship to the wages of produc- 
tion. It is entirely wrong to take, for this pur- 
pose, extracts from any book of examples, and to 
set up a certain amount per ton for all cases, as is 
frequently done, for it is very clear that these ex- 
amples must stand or fall with the present Avages 
of the moulders. 

For example, if an article is small and light, we 
must reckon upon higher wages to the moulders, 
for a greater number of moulds and pourings will 
be required in order to reach a ton's weight, and 
consequently the consumption of sand, plum- 
bago, chaplets, coke, straw, charcoal, etc., etc., 
is correspondingly higher, while in the other 
instances the reverse is the case. 

4. Loss of iron, where the melting down of the 
cupola produces a large amount of slag, must not 
be underestimated. It is a pity, but this latter 
can only be determined with any degree of ac- 



12 

curacy by experience; since it is a variable quan- 
tity and therefore cannot be safely meddled with 
at the outset. On the other hand, we will also 
find that where our calculations cannot intrude 
upon these confines of possible error, the value 
of the waste products can be equally divided 
amongst the various articles. 

5. The expense of superintendence. This ex- 
erts a very important influence upon our calcu- 
lations; we reckon upon it just as we do for the 
steam and the maintenance and construction of 
machines, for helpers, store- keepers, expenses, 
drayage, etc., as well as many other items th^t 
are constant, or may be considered as approxim- 
ately so. These expenses may be easily ascer- 
tained from the books at the ofiSce. 

6. Wages for cleaning. These are of a simpler 
nature, can be more easily ascertained, and are, 
among furnace products that have no great dif- 
ferences, of a tolerably constant value, when 
taken year in and year out, otherwise there is 
here also a minor field of error for our calcula- 
tions. 

7. Day- wages, wages of helpers. Not only 
those who are employed in the immediate work 
of casting, but those who are at work outside in 
loading and unloading, carting, etc., must be 
taken into careful consideration, for we see here, 
an influence of considerable magnitude entering 
into our reckoning. 

8. Current expenses. These are composed of 



13 

the salaries, including foreman's wages (if the 
latter are not divided between two or more de- 
partments), interest on borrowed capital, also 
compensation for losses and the like. 

9. The pattern making. We reckon here the 
wages of the flask- makers, together with the 
woodmnd tools which are used in the construc- 
tion of the patterns, as well as the small changes 
and the simple maintenance that is due to the 
carrying on of the business, so that it follows that 
these repairs may be charged equally to all ar- 
ticles, provided the latter are not cast from newly 
made or patterns that have been already charged. 
This maintenance of patterns, weighs somewhat 
constantly upon the business of the foundry, 
and is an expense that is not easily ascertained 
from the books. We will pause here and attempt 
to establish a reliable method of foundry practice 
in its relation to the business. It may also be 
said to be essential, that every new pattern which 
can contribute, at a given price, to an error, 
should be stricken from the books, lest any item 
remain which can, in any way, injure the accu- 
racy of our estimates. 

THE ESTIMATE OF VALUES. 

As a first step in developing a formula for cal- 
culating the value of castings, we plot the follow- 
ing table, and distribute the amounts found in 
the books under the various headings. Where it 



> 


'SXNVXSNOO 


> 


aq^ JO aajsuB.i(} aqq puB 'spinora aq:^ jo 
SuTAora aq^i 'sjfS'By jo SuiipuBq 'sjadiaji 


> 


'OS'Tf '«0!^ aad 'c)'B raaq^j 
japtsuoo iiiM aM (^uauiqsiiq^^ea jno jo j 
•aoa .lad saSBAv sjapinoui aqij q^iM Ajba 
puB apijjB d\\% uodn puadap SaiuBap aoj 


> 


•OOJ^Tf -siiOAV (jqSuMinra puB gmc»Baq 1 
'raBa-^s 'auauiqsiiq'B^sa aq^ jo Sai^qSix 
IBjauaS '8dxv% 'sa'suadxa ao^go 'aSi^-jsod eg 
•fl aq() ui Suuaiiooo mopias) 'spunj 5>oi8 
'sSuipiinq JO aou'Baa:;ui'Biu '4U'Bid jo ^soo 
'sasKa-ixa ssaiusna 


> 
l-l 


•%8 01 '■Biodno 
aq() Sntdxnnp qgnojq^} 'ssoi Saipn|o 
-UI 'gui^unoni'B 'aou'Bi'Bq aq^j JLq UMoqs 

axsvAV 


H 

M 


•000'r,$ -ssisBu JO SumBdaj 1 
's-^qJ^H 'saAais 'qsnp iboo 'sioo^ 'aiiqdBjS 
'ajjoo 'iBOO pu'B Sunp 'avbji^s 'iBooj^qo sis 

'snvraaxvH omainow 


K 


•Qoe'OTl 'sjasiBui ajoo pn« sjapinora joj 
saovAV 


M 


•uo'; jad oS'SSf ^B iBi-ia^Bui jo aoud aqi 
:^nd uiAV qm. aidui'Bxa jo ajiBs aqi .lo^i 

•Ajpunoj aq:j I'e 
pajaAiyap 'o^^a 'aSBqiBo 'iqSiajj Snipnpnt 

^ 'Noai dvaos 'Noai oid 



15 

is impossible to obtain the figures for an entire 
year, we may take an equal number of summer 
and winter months. 

The figures in the foregoing table are taken, 
as is easily seen, from the books, Thej'^ are 
not yet arranged for the purposes of an es- 
timate, since there must first be a revision and 
rearrangement of those values which, in any way, 
exert an influence upon the article under con- 
sideration and that on the one hand are depen- 
dent on its weight, and on the other, are in di- 
rect connection with the expense of moulding 
it. A very heavy casting may require very little 
labor in moulding, or the reverse; therefore 
those items that are particularly connected with 
weight, must be separated from those which 
relate to wages. It is only by this arrangement 
and the proper use of the amounts known, that 
a good and reliable formula for estimating pur- 
poses is possible. All errors which can creep in 
to our calculation have their roots here. 

In order, now to understand the uses of the 
foregoing table an auxilliary account must be 
formed. 

(a) The cost of melting, comprising the auxil- 
liary materials, together with the day's labor, 
maintenance and service of the cupola, banking 
the breast, etc., as well as the crushing or break- 
ing up of the pigs. These values, when found, 
may be considered as constant relatively to the 
weight produced, and an alteration is only neces- 



16 

sarily contingent upon a great variation in the 
average prices of material and labor. 

(6) A percental value which rises and falls with 
the cost of moulding a certain article, or the 
moulders' wages, and is entirely independent of 
its weight. 

(c) The determination of a business-factor, 
whereby the various items that are placed in the 
table under columns V and VIII, headed Busi- 
ness Expenses and Constants, may be brought, 
while strict regard is paid in the estimate to the 
leading branches of the business, into a correct 
form relatively to the associate departments. 

The values of (a) and (6) are taken from the 
table under columns III and VII namely: Mould- 
ing Materials and Daily Wages, and will be found, 
when coupled with experience, to be accurate for a 
given piece of work. Exact value cannot be as- 
certained when they are of a dependent nature 
and interwoven with other things. A large field 
of error would then have merely an insignificant 
influence upon the results of our calculation, 
since only those values that are found in columns 
III and VII are separated, while the rest remain 
intact; consequently these last totals always hold 
a place in our reckoning. 

In order to ascertain the expense of melting, 
(a) we tabulate the following schedule. The an- 
nexed data are such as must be attainable in any 
well regulated foundry. TLe loss of iron is 
omitted because it will be especially developed 



17 

in column IV. If the daily production is five 
tons, there will be needed. 

Firewood for heating the cupola $ .25 

Coke used in charging, 200 lbs. @ $6.50 per ton 65 

12% Coke for melting i,^ ton & $6.50 3.90 

Firebrick and clay 50 

Banking of breast, ven t tender, breaking pigs 5 . 00 

To rounding up and remelting 10% of pour 1.00 

Total $11.30 

3% of Limestone (seldom used in U. S.) .35 

- Total $11.65 

therefore we obtain under (a) for the expense of 
melting one ton, 

Melting at $2 . 33 

then itemizing this amount in the proper pro- 
portions for 

Moulding materials under III at $1.13 

Day wages " VII" $1.20 

developing these items so that they Avill cor- 
respond to the production of 1,00U tons, as in the 
table, we obtain 

$1130 under III 
$1200 under VII 

SO that we now have the following set of figurCvS, 

by whose assistance Ave — laying aside the expense 

of pattern making, which will be considered 

later on — are in a position to lay out a new table; 

yet even with the help of this table, a calculation 

is by no means possible, for we need first of all 

the percental values under (6). 

We find these values direct, since we may bring 

the remainder left in column III, which now 



> 

EH 

i 





•oKix^aH JO asNadxa 


•OOS'LS 
SXNVXSNOO 


1 

> 


•uo(j aad 08"S$ JO oOK'Tf snuira ooo'ff 


^ 


•ONiNvaio aoj: saovM 


i > 


•00?; 'If 
•sasNadxg ssaNisng 


1 


%8 
axsvAV 




•0i8f xo o£t'i$ snuira 'ooo'r.$ 
iviaaxvH 


II. 


'OOS'OI^ 'sj83iBraajoo xtws sjopinoui aoj 
saovAY 




'Noai oij 



19 

represents only the direct consumption of mate- 
rial used in moulding, that is in the moulding it- 
self, into such shape as to be directly connected 
with the percental outlay in wages. 

As shown in our table the materials will have 
absorbed approximately 8 per cent, as much as 
has been paid in wages. This item is of great 
importance; yet its absolute accuracy may be at 
fault in any single calculation. The author has 
found, however, that this ratio maybe employed 
without any detrimental influences, for estimat- 
ing, since, although we presuppose a limit of 
error, the effect cannot be of any great import- 
ance; otherwise a formula for calculating and 
intended for continual use would be worthless— 
excepting in the production of special articles 
— since the true value cannot be determined 
with an absolute degree of accuracy. 

It may be considered then, that, by the appli- 
cation of our method, profit and loss may, with- 
out any changes in our formula, be directly* 
balanced when an article is finished, and that 
they may be determined without special refer- 
ence to the books for the monthly or yearly 
statement; yet it is better to pay some attention 
to the possibility of an error occurring in each 
individual modification, so that the average and 
final values of the percental ratios, as found, 
may correspond; still a variation can only occur 
through some extraordinary difference in the 
prices of wages and material. But, here also 



20 

experience has shown that each reacts upon the 
other. For when Avages are high the prices of 
material are high. Still, as the latter case has 
not been presupposed, we can easily change the 
corresponding percentage for the time being, if 
necessary. 

That this value is generally connected with 
wages in a certain ratio has already been pointed 
out and established beyond a doubt: section 2, 
page 11. Only large amounts being subject to 
fluctuation for single articles, and this possible 
error may be disregarded for the reasons already 
given; thus the ratio found in this way controls 
the practice of any particular establishment and 
becomes the governing factor. 

Now we have only to determine the amount 
(c), of business. This amount, which is the 
statement of the share of each department, 
is of the greatest importance for our calcula- 
tion. 

This is the member, without which the body 
cannot move, and which, if improperly used, 
disables all of the other functions, or brings 
them to a standstill. It forms the principal fac- 
tor in all of our calculations and, alas, also the 
principal reason for them, since so many unre- 
liable and faulty methods have, up to this time, 
been employed, actually forcing whole establish- 
ments into an assignment; the causes for which 
we have seen in the incomprehensible prices that 
have been given, and which make these non- 



. 21 

professional methods a continual source of 
astonishment. 

We determine these values approximately, 
when we learn the capacity of a given foundry 
and what is the highest point attainable when its 
construction and the associate departments of 
the business are taken into consideration. There 
must also be a statement of the prevailing or 
highest attainable dividend when all competition 
is taken into consideration. This depends on 
the surroundings and the location of the estab- 
lishment, together with the facilities for obtain- 
ing business, and must undoubtedly be expressed 
conformably to the ordinary disbursements and 
the productive wages for moulders and core- 
makers. 

According to the examples in our table, as 
given under column II, the productive wages 
amount to $10,500, the current expenses of the 
business under column V a-nd the constants under 
column VIII to $8,700. It is evident, therefore, 
that for every dollar paid in wages the cost must 
be raised to 

1 + .§12^ = $1.83. 
10500 ^ 

The ratio .83 is in this case our business factor; 
and in our examples the average ratio for the 
twelve months is represented by the same co- 
efiQcient. 

It will serve all the purposes of an accurate 
calculation, if this value is fixed from month to 



22 

month beforehand, and then used as a basis for 
the computation of the original cost during this 
time. The more accurately, however, this value 
is determined, just so much the more accurately 
will the final result in its totality coincide with 
the actual original cost. 

For ordinary foundry business it suffices if we 
determine our business factor from the maxi- 
mum, mean, or minimum business as shown in 
the following table: 



I Maximum monthly business. 

II Mean monthly business 

Ill Minimum monthly business. 




Business 
factor. 



.60 
,83 
1.32 



These figures are chosen analagously to our 
example, and must evidently be obtained in the 
manner specified, for each foundry. 

Suppose now we wish to estimate upon an 
article; we simply consider whether we are to 
consult line I, II or III for the time being, and 
if the acceptation of this as a basis of calculation 
will produce any important change in the prin- 
cipal interests of the business, and in what line 
the resultant basis is to be found. 

Well, then, even though we find ourselves in 
condition III through too great a number of ac- 
ceptances, or through a considerable monthly 
excess of expenditures over production, we may 



23 

still use the first line in our calculations, care- 
fully applying, as we shall see later, the requi- 
site factor to I, in calculating, in order to deter- 
mine the cost, and this will then appear on the 
books if any falling off in the business is the re- 
sult of the price determined upon. 

It may here be remarked that many monthly 
balances drawn up by the same methods have 
nothing to do with individual cases, still the 
wages actually paid at the end of the month or 
year, form a correct and exact basis for the con- 
trolling business factor during the correspond- 
ing period. 

As we have seen, in this determination of the 
business factor, not only the productive wages, 
but the productive capacity of the establishment 
in its present extent and surroundings must be 
considered on all sides, before adopting a basis. 
A pro rata division and adjustment of the other 
ratios, especially of those dependent on the 
weight, must be carefully avoided, as being ab- 
solutely false and erroneous; and rightly so, for 
were it otherwise, indeed, if it were possible to 
be otherwise, then that labor which produces 
ten tons with a certain expenditure of wages, 
would exert the same influence uj^on the busi- 
ness as that which consumes the same amount 
in producing a hundred weight of another class 
of articles; we should have as a result every man- 
ufacturer exerting himself to secure tbe heaviest 
class of goods. 



24 

We see then, as a result of this, that the price 
drops as far as the wage ratio of the two arti- 
cles of ten tons and a hundred weight, in their 
relationship to the business factor, will permit. 
This is precisely the state of affairs upon the 
market; each imagines that in weight there is 
safety, and we are annoyed, because, when driv- 
en to a corner, we are obliged to accept prices 
lying far below our figures; still the thought 
that it is heavy consoles us. Had we estimated 
correctly, we should have found from the co- 
efficient of our business that, in one sense, 
weight counts for nothing, and that the f ecret of 
our success lies in the adoption of the proper 
factor. 

I have now touched upon all the items that 
are of use in our business. We have found that 
in our example the consumption of material in 
ordinary moulding is 8 per cent, of the amount 
of the productive wages, and that the average 
business factor gives a coefficient of .83, and it 
shows, furthermore, that this coefficient is, prop- 
erly speaking, the life of a correct estimate. 
Upon its correct determination and application 
tht whole business depends. That man alone 
may guarantee every estimate and make his de- 
mands in accordance with the lowest rates, who 
can cover up or ward off losses, provided the 
state of business or other circumstances do not 
hamper him, and who can avail himself of every 
method of economy that is of any advantage. 



25 

He lays the corner-stone upon which the whole 
business superstructure is to be reared, and by 
carefully watching every article, he may, at the 
very outset, vouch for every estimate, even unto 
its final result, which really ought to be ob- 
tained before the manufacture is undertaken, so 
that every possible economy may be practiced. 
No one can be mistaken as to the great advan- 
tage that there is, when accepting a contract, to 
be able to tell before its execution, exactly what 
influence it will have on the business after- 
wards. 

Our schedule, through these new found values, 
now takes the form found in table III, on fol- 
lowing page. 

DEPKECIATION AND INTEREST. 

The items falling under this head are usually 
very easily obtained, and are generally fixed, so 
that without any further development of our 
examples and schedules we will take for depre- 
ciation 

Per cent. 

(A) Buildings 2 

(B) Ma-hinerv and stock on hand 5 

(C) Patterns 10 

and the sum total of these and their complemen- 
tary items is $1,400 per annum. 

As to interest we have likewise very little to 
say. It is placed in our schedule under column 
VIII, and is primarily connected with the sink- 



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08S$'uo^J9d 


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OS'TS'uo^jaj 


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•OKiNvaio 




00 OD 


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1. 








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rt 


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02 


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s 












0! ?5 


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27 

ing fund, when the interest is ah-eady accounted 
for in a contingent account. It only remains, 
then to consider the interest on the remaining 
capital, as well as the actual property. This in- 
terest should have a place in our estimate of 
cost, but only so far as it does not exceed 5 per 
cent. We fix this evaluation here because fur- 
ther on the question arises, whence is the profit 
derived, and what is the relation between an ar- 
ticle which, with the same expenditure of wages 
weighs a ton, and another that only tips the 
scale at a hundred weight. Unfortunately the 
same uncertainty prevails here, as we have 
shown to be the case in ascertaining the busi- 
ness factor, with this difference, that as it only 
temporarily lowers the profit it cannot have so 
bad an effect upon the final result. 

Hence, as all our definitions and explanations 
are, when estimating according to these hypoth- 
eses, evidently explanatory of the capacity of 
the establishment, its extent and surroundings, 
and not wholly of the cupolas and output, we 
find that the smallest has an ihfiuence upon the 
largest, and that we should pay particular atten- 
tion to the amount of business and the product- 
ive wages as the great important factors, so that 
there need be no complications, and the foun- 
dry will be self-sustaining if we make the re- 
sultant profit depend entirely on the productive 
labor. This item alone constitutes the active 
and vital part, and is always more or less promi- 



28 



nent in our thoughts, while the life of the estab- 
lishment stands in no fixed relationship to the 
output. We must therefore consider every esti- 
mate as erroneous and unreliable that derives 
its profit as well as the ratio of depreciation, 
from the weight of the castings. 

In our example we put depreciation at $1,400 
per annum, the interest on the property at 5 per 
annum, at $1,200. This falls, then, upon the la- 
bor efficiency of the establishment, and may be 
divided into three heads: 

Per Month. 

A maximum I with productive wages at $1200 

A mean II " " " 875 

A minimum III " " " 550 

and upon each dollar of these wages there falls 
a certain proportion of depreciation and inter- 
est. The coefficient for the proper distribution 
is ascertained by dividing the amount of depre- 
ciation and interest throughout the period taken, 
proportionally to the wages paid. Our example 
is then completed in the following scale: 



STAGE. " 


I. 


II. 


III. 


Wages PEB Month. 


$1200 

.60 
.10 
.08 
.16 
.24 


$875 


$550 




.83 
.13 
.11 
.22 
.33 


1.32 




.21 


Interest on Property at 5% 

10% 

15%.... 


.18 
.36 
.54 



29 

Now, if we are estimating upon an article, we 
can, in calculating tLe cost, see from our table 
that we are still to add to the amount already 
taken if we find that the business is in the sec- 
ond or mean stage of prosperity, while we have 
been estimating without any regard to these 
auxilliary items. 

(A). For current expenses. Business factor, 
.83, or the .83 part of the wages, which the ob- 
ject requires for its production per ton. Also 

(B). For depreciation. .11 in the table, the 
.11 part of the wages, and 

(C). For, say 10 per cent, profit. .22 according 
to the table, or the .22 part of the wages. 

Now, with the assistance of these data, and we 
have seen them to be essential to our success, we 
will make a few general observations upon pat- 
tern making, in order that we may finally incor- 
porate this item also into our calculations. 

PATTEKN MAKING. 

This is inseparably connected with foundry 
work, whether it be considered as a simple ap- 
pendage or as a necessary evil. Attempts to secure 
business and periods of enforced idleness usually 
bring it about that the influence upon the foun- 
dry is confined to the expense incurred by the 
direct outlay for wood, wages and other materi- 
als. There is no profit, as a general thing, since 
no charge can be made except for new and espe- 



30 

cial patterns. This lack of profit is for the most 
part due to the fact that all foundries, especially 
such us are in the same vicinity, have acquired 
by their yearly accumulation the same or a sim- 
ilar stock of patterns, and further that by en- 
closing them in warehouses for a long time and 
keeping them protected from the wind and 
weather, there takes place a certain depreciation 
and it is taken for granted that this has taken 
place, still profit is apparently increased when 
the output is not burdened with the expense of 
pattern making, for with that expense the 
profits would be forfeited, while, on the other 
hand, these same patterns have been accumu- 
lated without any noticeable increase of expendi- 
tures. There remains, then, nothing but to dis- 
tribute the debits of the whole output through 
depreciation on the one hand and the general 
pattern- making expense on the other, includ- 
ing the small changes that are continually 
being made, and which fall equally upon all 
articles without a ay especial regard to the 
actual portion belonging to each individual 
casting. 

Nothing of any very great importance need be 
added to an article in our calculation, since the 
expense of pattern-making and changing, the 
construction of flasks for the foundry, the mak- 
ing of foUow-boards, etc., wood, wages and 
tools, drops by actual experience to between 
$2.00 and $4.50 per ton of output. This expense 



31 

must evideotly be analyzed according to the 
peculiarities of the establishment, where the 
amount influences the calculation to any ex- 
tent. 

Suppose, then, an establishment enters into 
the manufacture of some special article, as, for 
example, of socketed water pipe, which may be 
moulded by machine, or ingot moulds for steel 
works, whose weight is enormous, relatively, to 
the pattern work required, so that it is positive- 
ly necessary to make some essential difference 
in order to arrive at a result that the average 
output for a long period would warrant, for ex- 
ample : 

I, 400 tons ingot molds. 
II, 300 " socketed water pipe. 
Ill, 300 " miscellaneoiie. 

And altogether the expense of pattern -making 
amounts to $2500; for I, the highest expense of 
pattern -making was $2.00 per ton; for II there 
was no expense at all; therefore, there remains 
for III for miscellaneous articles, $1,700, or an 
expense of $5.66 per ton. 

As has been already remarked, experience 
shows that the amount for III lies between $4.50 
and $5.75, and may be subdivided into i% for 
v/ages and /g for the consumption of wood and 
tools. 

Let us consider then, that we have taken a 
statement from the books for ten months and 



32 

have tabulated the amounts thus obtained into 
the following scale: 























Pattern 


a 


Classified produc- .* 




making. 




tion In tons. g«^ 








li 






S-sa 


MONTH. 




a 


1. 




i 


8 for 
pecial 
H were 
red. 
ts for 
terns ] 




S 
^ 
^ 


1 
32 


6912.5 


a o 

30 




Artick 

which 8 

pattern 

requi 

EeceiE 

pat 


January 


132 


23 


3.5 31 


February .... 


145 


35 


8814. 


50 


22 


2 


5 


March 


129 


29 


101 7. 


70 


22 


2 


16 


April 


148 


26 


103 7. 


71 


23 


2 


58 


Mav 


110 


20 


65 4.5 


28 


31 


1.5 


32 


June 


67 
69 
101 


13 
8 
11 


55 
63 

86 


6. 


94 


23 

19.5 

12. 


2 


10 


July 


20. 1 23 


9t 


August 


13. 


68 


22 


September... 


110 


30 


107 


8. 


78 


18. 


3 


20 


October 


102 


26 


95 


3. 


70 


21. 


1 


16 


10 


1,111 


230 


832 


95. 


502 


214 5 


20.5 


212 




1, 


341 





Therefore upon this basis we learn that the 
socketed pipes have cost nothing for pattern 
making, and the ingot moulds only about 50c. 
per ton, and consequently we may arrive at the 
following conclusion : 

810. 4 tons at 50c $405 . 

The receipts for special patterns 212 , 

Making a total of S617 . 

leaving $1,341 — $617, or $724 to be divided 



33 

among those 214^ tons of sundry articles, 
which covers all the extra expense of pattern 
making. 

This leaves a pattern account of $3.37 per ton. 
At the same time we see that the wages are pro- 
portioned to the wood and tool account in the 
ratio of 4:^^ to 1. This then becomes of some 
importance to us, since in estimating upon new 
patterns we may use these ratios without any 
further investigation unless some especial pecu- 
liarity renders an exception necessary, when 
some particulars should be given, else we may 
shoot wide of our mark. 

We have now exhausted all items which can 
have an appreciable effect upon our calculations, 
and we will proceed to gather them together into 
a new schedule which we will call our contract 
formula. 

THE CONTRACT FORMULA. 

To form this, the items for the particular 
establishment under consideration, that are 
necessary for our calculation, must be found. 
We have, in our examples already given, ob- 
tained from the books the information that the 
price of coke is $6 per ton, and the productive 
wages $35 per day, the materials used in mould- 
ing 87c. or 20 per cent, of the productive wages. 

4 The loss of iron 8 per cent. 

The day wages S2.80per ton. 



34 

Cost of melting 2.33 per ton. 

Pattern making 3.37 " 

Average cost of cleaning 1.50 " " 

The average business factor 0.83 

Depreciation added to this factor 13 

Interest on the property at 5 per cent, to . . .11 
Interest on the property at 10 per cent. to. . .22 

SO that we can with these data make a direct 
estimate for a given article. 
Examples : 

(1) What will be the cost of a smooth pillar 16 
feet long with a plain capital and base? 

The weight being about 850 lbs. 

The wages for moulding and core- making for 
the piece will be about $4.00; hence the expense 
per ton in productive wages will be $9.40. 

If now the pig iron is worth $22.50 per ton, 
laid down at the works, our calculation yields 
with a 5 per cent profit: 

Pig iron ... $22 . 50 

f Loss 8 per cent 1.801 

Called (Melting 2.331 

Factors<'DsLy wages 2.80}>11.80 

later on. I Pattern making 3.37 | 

(.Wages for cleaning 1.50 J 

Productive wages 9.40 

Materials per cent 75 

Average business factor, .83 ... 7.99 

Depreciation .13 .. 1.22 

5 per cent profit = .11 1.03 

$54.69 

as the price of one ton of castings. 

(2) What will be the cost of a cast iron stand- 
pipe for hydraulic pressure 9 feet long, 18 inches 
diameter and 2 inches thick. Weight about 
3,800 tt)S.? 



35 

/ 
Wages for loam moulders and core makers for 
the piece $3.00, pig iron laid down at the foun- 
dry $22.50 per ton, with 5 per cent, profit, gives: 

Pig iron $22 . 50 

Factors 11 .80 

Productive wages 1.60 

Material, 8 per cent 13 

Business factor .83 1.33 

Depreciation, .13 21 

5 per cent, profit = .11 18 

$37.75 

as the cost of 1 ton of casting. 

(3) What will be the cost of the same pipe, 9 
feet long, 18 inches diameter and 1 inch thick. 
Weight about 1,800 R)s.? 

Wages for molders and core makers remain 
the same, namely, $3.00 for the piece, or 
$3.33 per ton; this, with a profit of 5 per cent, 
gives: 

Pig iron $22.50 

Factors ... n . 80 

Productive wages 3.33 

Materials 8 per cent 27 

Business factors, .83 2.76 

Depreciation. .13 43 

5 per cent, profit = .11 37 

$41.46 

cost of 1 ton of castings. 

(4) What will be the cost of a set of grate bars, 
cast singly, and weighing 16 lbs. each. Suppose 
the wages per piece to be .05, making the pro- 
ductive wages per ton $6.25, then: 

Pig iron ji22.50 

Factors 11.80 



36 

Productive wages 6.25 

Material .08 per cent 50 

Busine.ss Factor, .83 5.19 

Depreciation, .13 81 

5 per cent, profit = .11 69 

$47.74 

Kesult per ton. 

(5) What will be the cost of the same furnace 

bar except that each piece weighs 32 lbs. Wages 

per piece, $.05, the same as before, therefore the 

productive wages will be $3.13 per ton, which 

gives: 

Pig iron $22.50 

Factors 11.80 

Productive wages 3.13 

Material 8 per cent 25 

Business factor, .83 2.59 

Depreciation, .13 41 

5 per cent, profit = . 11 34 

$41.02 

Result per ton. 

Suppose now that our establishment had been 
driven with more work, and, as a consequence 
of which our business factor became .60 instead 
.83, and also that the corresponding depreciation 
was .10, so that, as Las already been shown, our 
5 per cent, profit becomes .08. Under these cir- 
cumstances we obtain the following cost prices 
for the castings called for in the foregoing ex- 
amples: 

NOS. 12 3 4 5 

$50.18 37.28 41.50 45.92 40.12 

as the cost price per ton. 

In like manner a smaller business would have 
perhaps resulted in our adopting the business 



37 

factor 1.32 under III of a previous table, and .21 
for depreciation and .18 for a 5 per cent, profit. 
Our examples would then have necessarily taken 
the following forms: 

Nos. 1 2 3 4 5 
$59.85 38.77 43.60 51.74 43.25 

It must be especially emphasized just here, 
that all of our calculations which are made with 
reference to a state of affairs corresponding to 
the immediate and controlling condition of the 
business, and which are expressed through our 
coefficients for the business factor, depreciation 
and profit, always yield the cost and profit for 
the momentarily predominant ratio. 

To follow such a variable ratio for the adoption 
of a basis Avould be altogether inadmissible. 
For with a more extensive business the proprie- 
tor would hardly be disposed to forfeit the profits 
arising from the adoption of a lower basis, which 
would be the natural result of the changed state 
of affairs. But on the other hand it may occur, 
that in consequence of a falling off in the busi- 
n-^ss our items would produce a higher basis. 
Since no one is disposed to accept less than the 
proffered price, the manufacturer would be re- 
luctant to reduce his price independently of the 
current state of affairs upon the market; so that 
our methods of estimating can only serve him 
as a glass, in which he can see exactly what his 
profit or loss may be. The general condition of 
the market, the amount of business competition 



and other circumstances place a limit upon the 
basis to be adopted, hence under all circum- 
stances, an estimate must be made by means of 
such a basis as is appropriate to the ?ase in hand. 
Hence there is no alternative but to start from a 
new point of view, and in this way adjust our 
method of calculation for all cases. This stand- 
point would naturally be based upon the average 
ratio of business, but can hardly be determined 
by any temporary variation in the business one 
way or the other. It really makes no difference, 
although one might be disposed to say: "Now 
this concern has such and such debts and a capi- 
tal of such an amount to pay interest upon and 
to suffer depreciation upon, while that one has 
very much less, and what it does have, if pros- 
perity is possible at all, corresponds to what is 
necessary to carry on tlie business and produce 
a fair realization upon the capital invested." 

The market price does not depend upon indi- 
vidual concerns. It fluctuates about a certain 
known average, and this average alone can give 
the data for our coefficients and for determining 
our statement of costs, must regulate our esti- 
mates year in and year out, and show of itself in 
the statement of greater or reduced profits 
whether more or less business should be forced 
upon the market, from which we have obtained 
this fixed bill of costs. 

We must, therefore, to express ourselves 
briefly, consider the state of business as it is 



39 

relatively to those conditions under wliicli, with 
their own peculiar circumstances, either by a 
determination of the actual cost or of a certain 
established profit, it is still possible on the whole 
to pay expenses or make a bare profit. These 
data Avill only be necessary for the purposes of 
an estimate, and, as we have- successively proven 
in the development of our method, only those 
expenditures which are essential for fixing the 
annual rate of productive wages in their totality 
should be indicated. 

We must then settle upon this total of produc- 
tive wages for the year as may appear proper, so 
that by its assistance, after the amount of de- 
preciation has been established, we may deter- 
mine the average state of business and the ratio 
of depreciation exactly as has been given above. 
We must put this average at the basis of our 
calculations, and furthermore cannot deviate 
from it for any- cause whatever, for the reasons 
already brought forward, without detriment to 
ourselves. These averages give a strong support 
to our estimates and may be looked upon and 
used as constant. Yet it should be remembered 
that their very importance in daily uses to which 
they are subjected renders their freedom from 
error absolutely necessary. 

The coefficient 0.83 for the business factor, 
and 0.13 for depreciation ought, in the experi- 
ence of the author, to be such as correspond to 
the established ratio and the state of the market. 



40 

hence we have placed them, in our examples, at 
about the average point. These two factors 
may then, without more ado, be disposed of in 
the form of a new business coefficient equal 
to 0.96. 

Example: — An article costs $8.00 per ton in 
productive wages; the pig iron laid down at the 
works is worth $22.50, hence we have as the 
actual cost: 

Iron $22.50 

Factors 11. 80 

Productive wages 8.00 

Material, 8 per cent 64 

0.96 Coefficient of business 7.68 

Excluding profit 40.62 

The profit appropriates, according to the 
amount of business, as we have already shown, 
a part of the productive wages, and is deter- 
mined in exactly the same way as in the exam- 
ples for determining the average business factor 
for the year with a fixed total of wages, and can 
then be brought to the desired ratio. For in- 
stance, 5 per cent, profit per annum corresponds 
to 0.11 of the total productive wages; hence for 
this profit we add to our estimate .11 = $0.88. 
The total then becomes, on this basis, $40.62 + 
.88 = $41.50. 

We now estimate our actual cost for a series of 
totals of productive wages on that basis which 
is now fixed, and thus obtain the following table 
which may very appropriately be called our es- 
tablished formula. 



41 

"With the help of this formula, whose values 
having first been determined for a given estab- 
lishment like those here given for the sake of an 
example, we can now, without any further diffi- 
culty, estimate upon the average capacity of our 
works, develop this capacity and determine the 
basis of every given case. In application the 
examples are given in table on pages 42 and 43. 

1. It is required to estimate the cost of *a cer- 
tain class of columns, whose productive wages 
reach $8 per ton, then according to our table, 
taking this as the prevailing average for the 
whole year, which with a profit of 5 per cent, 
and the price of raw material used at $22.50 
gives for the required casting, 

Appertinent values $29.00 

For material 22.50 

So that it can be delivered at $51.50 

and if old patterns are used no extra charge can 
be made on this account. 

2. A number of plates three feet square and 
three-quarter inches thick are called for. Tak- 
ing the moulders wages at $2 per ton, the iron 
and patterns remaining the same as well as the 
5 per cent, profit, 

We get from our table $16.10 

Add iron at 22.50 

As cost $38.62 

3. Suppose larger plates and a greater number 
are ordered, then we can by reference to the 



42 



THE CONTRACT 

The price of coke is taken at S6.00 per ton. The average 
price of pig iron including freights 



o ft 



03 -O 



2S 



• 


Wages per 


month 




Average business fa ctor 


Productive 


Depreciation 


wages for 




moulders and 
corema k e r a 








per ton. 


Cost, including 
depreciation. 


Estimate on a ba- 
sis of 0.11 or 5 per 
cent profit. 


$2.00 


S15.88 


S16.10 


3.00 


17.92 


18.25 


4.00 


19.96 


20.40 


5.00 


22.00 


22.55 


6.00 


24.04 


24.70 


8.00 


28.12 


29.00 


10.00 


32.20 


33.30 


12.00 


36.28 


37.60 


U.OU 


40.36 


41.90 


16.00 


44.44 


46.20 


18.00 


48.52 


50.50 


20.00 


52.60 


54.80 


22.00 


56.68 


59.10 


24.00 


60.76 


63.40 


26.00 


~ 64.84 


67.70 


28.00 


68.92 


72.00 


30.00 


73.00 


76.30 



43 



FORMULA. 

of depreciation is fixed at 0.11 of productive wages. The 
is put down in the table at $22.50. 



S875 

0.83 

0.13 


Wages per mo . . 


$550 


Wages per mo. $1,200 


Business factor 1.32 


Business factor 0.60 


Depreciation... 
5 per cent profit 


0.21 
0.18 


Depreciation. .. O.io 
5% profit 08 


Estimate on a 
basis of 0.22 or 
10 per cent, 
profit. 


Cost, including 


de- 


Cost, including de- 


preciation ; exclud- 


preciation; exclud- 


ing profit. 




ing profit. 


$16.32 


$17.02 




$15.36 


18.58 


19.63 




17.14 


20.84 


22.24 




18.92 


23.10 


24.85 




20.7a 


25.36 


27.46 




22.48 


29.88 


32.68 




26.04 


34. 40 


37.90 




29.60 


38.92 


43.12 




33.16 


43.44 


48.34 




36.72 


47.96 


53.56 




40.28 


52.48 


58.78 




43.84 


57.00 


64.00 




47.40 


61.52 


65.22 




50.96 


66.04 


74 44 




54.52 


70.56 


79.66 




58.08 


75.08 


84.88 




61.64 


79.60 


90.10 




65.20 



u 

reports of the annual average wliere the busi- 
ness factor is placed at 0.83 and depreciation at 
0.13 as in our table of examples, taking it for 
granted that it remains as heretofore, and ask 
ourselves whether or not the increased expendi- 
ture thus occasioned may not cause an increase 
in the anticipated wages from one month to an- 
other, so that our business factor which, through 
the division of the constant expenses of the es- 
tablishment is likewise affected by these wages, 
may not be sensibly diminished. 

Suppose that having satisfied ourselves that 
by an unexpected increase of business over the 
estimated average, we may henceforth count 
upon a brisk business, and consequently our 
business factor for this larger business may be 
placed at 0.60, giving us for our plates, with the 
price of pig iron at $22.50 per ton, and where 
we made new patterns at a cost of only $2 per 
ton instead of the basis upon which the above 
table was rated : 

Basis $15 .36 

Pig iron 22. 50 

Pattern making 2.00 

5 per cent, profit .08 of wages 10 

$40.02 
Subtracting 3.37 

For the tabular values already taken into account in 
our estimate of pattern making $36.65 

4. A bed plate for hydraulic crane, weighing 
eight tons, requires for its moulding in loam 
$32 in productive wages, or $4 per ton. Once 



45 

more we consider the iron laid, down costing 
$22.50; the patternmaking expenses, comprising 
those of making flasks, etc., gives an average 
outlay of $3.37 so that we find for a 

5 per cent, profit in our table $20.40 

Pig iron 22.50 

$42.90 

as a basis of estimation for the plain casting. 

With slight changes where a large single casting 
requires so little for workman's wages it is often 
the case that a prudent manufacturer will reason 
that the profit which accrues to him does not 
stand in the proper ratio to the risks that he 
runs in casting it; and that he would rather give 
up the small profit than run such risks, since the 
average ratio of bad castings already considered 
in the table will probably remain the same. 
There is considerable foundation for this fore- 
sight that requires certain concessions for so 
great a risk. 

Under such circumstances we adopt a different 
rate of estimating and use such figures for our 
calculation as correspond to the probable losses 
incurred by the risk, but which should not be 
larger than the profit, because each one con- 
tributes his share toward paying for the risk; 
the purchaser who pays the price demanded as 
well as the manufacturer who loses his share in 
that portion of the work which is spoiled. 

The above amount of $42.90 taken in terms 



46 

of our contract formula and placed together are 
as follows: 

Iron $22 . 50 

Loss 8 per cent 1.80"! 

Process of melting 2. 33 I 

Day wages 2. SO J> Factors. 

Maintenance of patterns 3.37 $11.80 

Cleaning 1 . 50 J 

Productive wages 4.00 

Materials 32 

Business factor 0.83 3.32 

Depreciation 0.13 52 

5 per cent profit = 0.11 44 

$42.90 

Then comes what is lost to the concern by bad 
casting: 

(a) Waste $1.80 

(5) Melting 2. 33 

(c) Dav wages 2 . 80 

id) Materials 32 

$7.25 per ton. 

The productive wages are not, in this connec- 
tion considered lost, since in case of a bad cast- 
ing the pay of the Avorkman is sometimes with- 
held, because this is the principle acted upon 
in those foundries where work is done by the 
piece; but where such is not the case, of course 
this amount must also be added to the list. 

The profit of the manufacturer, when heavy 

final losses are taken into consideration only 

amounts to 

Depreciation $0.5'2 

5 per cent, profit 44 

$0.96 



47 

and therefore stands in no relationship to what 
the losses can effect. We must therefore review 
our calculations from a commercial standpoint 
and if we wish to be correct we must divide our 
$7.25 by two, into $3.63, which amount we then 
add to our estimate as the proportion due to 
risk. 

We then obtain as a basis $42.90 

Risks 3.63 



$46.53 

We see furthermore that this last calculation, 
by which we can formulate and express tlie items 
we have ascertained, that are dependent upon 
the situation of our establishment, requires most 
careful consideration in order that the items 
there found may appear in their true propor- 
tions in the final result. For such cases there 
can evidently be no formula found, for they sim- 
ply depend on relations of a commercial nature, 
conforming to the size and perfectness of the 
establishment, and to those changes which may 
be called forth by unpropitious circumstances, 
even after all possible data has been determined. 

THE BALANCE. 

As has already been shown, we can with the 
help of our tables as they are compiled, and 
without any further difficulty determine the 
profit or loss per week, month or year. For this 
purpose one need only, instead of taking the 



48 

productive wages wliich naturally belong in the 
estimate upon a certain object, add together the 
whole productive wage expenditure lor the week, 
month, or year, and compare it with the total 
output of castings for the corresponding time. 
Both of these amounts, which may be obtained 
without auy trouble from the books, are at hand 
for the simple total of invoices supplies an 
equivalent which, by a fair approximation, cor- 
responds to the sale of castings. Then, having 
found the totals for the space of one month we 
have: 

(a) Total of productive wages, $725.00; (&) 
Total weight of output at 55 tons; (c) Invoicing 
52 tons at $3,640 gives $70 per ton as the price of 
the rough castings. 

So in accordance with our examples we draw 
up the following balance. 

Coat ot pig-iron consumed $22.50 

Factors 11.80 

Wages per ton ^I?^ = 13.18 

55 

8 per cent, materials 1.05 

Business factor, $8,700. constant expenses per year 

$7 25 per month _ j 13 18 

$725 wages per month 
Depreciation $1,400 per year or 

per month $116.66 =16 2 11 

the monthly wages $725. 
Cost exclusive of profit $63 . 82 

then since we have obtained $70 for the rough 
castings, there consequently remains a profit of 
$6.18 per ton, or on the sale of the 55 tons of 



49 

castings that have been produced during the 
month a profit of $6.18 x 55 = $339.80. 

The only care which we must take with our 
balance consists in the determination of the 
price obtained for the rough castings with the 
utmost exactness; and since almost all foundries 
are provided to a greater or less extent with a 
mechanical department, including such tools and 
facilities for working up the output, that the 
majority of invoiced amounts are so combined 
that they do not represent the value of the raw 
products. 

In any business, to whatever class it may be- 
long, and where a constant oversight over the 
various departments is fully appreciated, an 
amalgamation of the mechanical department 
with the foundry is inadmissible. It is recom- 
mended as of great importance for an exact bal- 
ance, that each department be credited with the 
working up of the raw material as it obtains it, 
and to draw off a monthly balance for correct- 
ing any error that may occur, and thus keep each 
division of the business separate. When this is 
done regularly every month, the total value of 
all the castings poured is found without the 
trouble of consulting the books, and the balanc- 
ing with our estimate must consequently be very 
approximately correct. Our purpose is to arouse 
a continuous and unbroken interest in our busi- 
ness which increases as the latter gains in 
strength; and when this is fully established we 



50 

naturally organize all of our business relations 
upon a systematic basis, and when this is done 
we are in a position to measure and recognize 
every insinuating error, and then rectify it. 

THE BUSINESS. 

All those ratios of values which have been as- 
certained for given cases in our business and 
which are recognized as the controlling ratios of 
the establishment, with those that are determin- 
ed by constant expenses, depreciation, etc., 
and which weigh upon our business equally dur- 
ing the whole year, and for which we have laid 
down an absolute average, so that their drain 
upon our resources may appear even and uni- 
form and effect our estimates in the same way 
at all times; and if fluctuations of business that 
temporarily predominate, should show an 
amount of expense that could not be warranted 
or met, these ratios do not guarantee us absolute 
safety in the matter of our calculations when the 
latter are based upon the pre-determined values, 
unless the manager continually tests these val- 
ues by tabular summaries and comparisons, and 
puts his whole attention upon it, so that each 
attainable point may be striven for and reached. 
Further, an examination of the closest ratio that 
has been attained between the reciprocally act- 
ing expenses of the system, which operate in 
the manufacture of the product, and those of the 



51 

management coupled with a quick perception of 
the interaction of these ratios, Avill show to what 
extent they can influence the business, and 
bring about a proper condition of the final re- 
sults. The more careful the management of the 
business is, the more exact the average ratios 
will be found, and the figures laid down in our 
basis will shed their influence over all of our 
transactions and an accurate basis of expense 
will be the result. 

The items which the engineer has observed in 
his business, must naturally be of the same kind 
as lie at the basis of his calculations, with the 
difference that they are not when they have 
proven themselves necessary for his calculations 
to be analyzed and transformed. The statement 
and summary per ton of product suflftces here. 

For the purpose we need a table which we will 
call the Business Eegister . (See pages 52 an d 53) . 
The amounts in this table indicate the values 
which are always regarded as the average, and 
should not be changed without some good 
reason, since they have proven themselves cor- 
rect in our own practice, or have been borrowed 
from some well-regulated establishment whose 
data are to be relied upon. 

The following figures must be carefully taken 
at the end of each month from the actual ex- 
penses incurred in the business, and registered 
per ton. The register then certifies to each 
point of the main business, as to which is neces- 









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54 

sary in order to know positively whether there 
is an improvement or falling off in the status. 

For the sake of an example, we have arranged 
our register for a series of months and will now 
make a few observations thereon. 

I. For the value of the pig iron melted we 
reckon most particularly upon the average value 
of the special raw materials purchased, includ- 
ing freight to the foundry. It would occupy too 
much space and create too much confusion if we 
should enter into the details of the works, and 
make minute distinctions, as though we should 
say: "This material was bought quite cheaply, 
that at a higher price; now while we are using 
the cheaper material, we might use its price as 
the basis of our estimate. " To be sure this might 
be done but it is not advisable when our general 
interests or those of our estimates are consid- 
ered, since as an error is not excluded by a simi- 
lar course in business at large, it would not be 
here. It is recommended, therefore, that there 
should be a simple entry and checking off of the 
pig iron received and manufactured in the man- 
ner shown, that we may have the data at hand 
that we need. And right here it may be noted 
that throughout this treatise the cost of pig iron 
alone is taken into consideration. This is done 
to avoid the confusion that would inevitably 
result from using a multiplicity of prices; but 
where scrap is used, whether extensively or not, 
an average may be struck between the price of 



55 

pig and scrap proportional to the ruling prices 
and the quantities used, and this amount treated 
in the same manner as we have done with our 
fixed price of pig. 

In the table (see page 56) we find: 

{A) The average individual prices of various 
brands. 

For estimating upon an article a knowledge of 
this is indispensable, for inasmuch as the cast- 
ings permit of a variation of the several iron 
alloys for certain purposes, one must use in his 
calculation the value of those materials especially 
suited to the purpose. 

(B) The total average value of the raw mate- 
rials consumed during the month, which amount 
we must insert in our register. 

The problem for the managing engineer is to 
always produce with irons of the lowest grades 
such castings as will satisfy the demands of the 
specifications. To what extent this may be 
carried for a given article, depends upon the 
correct estimate of its requirements, what must 
be employed in it, as well as upon the practical 
experience of the managing engineer, who must 
select the materials. 

II. Waste is of a constant nature and it does 
not lie within our power to change it, that is, in 
the present state of the art. In order that it 
may appear as light as possible, there is usually 
a careful gathering of small lost pieces of iron, 
the pickings from the slag, and a removal of the 



rage 

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57 

scoriated coke from tlie iron that it may be re- 
melted. Our registered values then can only 
vary, when instead of sound raw materials, 
scoriated iron, as in the form of shot or burned 
furnace bars, is used for melting. For such 
cases we must formulate a calculation especially 
referable to it, and not forget that the requisite 
amount of burned furnace bars and the like, will 
give a waste of probably 40 per cent. 

III. The column of productive wages, through 
its variations, and in consequence of the differ- 
ent articles that are turned out of the foundry 
and which cost more or less per ton, shows at a 
glance whether more has been paid out than 
was necessary. For the latter reason the con- 
tract system is introduced into foundry practice 
for a large portion of the castings, if there is a 
sure basis for estimating by means of some 
established standard of comparison; otherwise 
it devolves upon the foreman or engineer to 
make the proper estimate, and to f-o adjust 
prices that an agreement may be made with the 
workmen. Upon such a basis, each individual 
register value for the preceding month may be 
rendered accessible for the sake of comparison, 
and its variation for .any single month is there- 
fore not worth taking into account. For the 
sake of rendering it possible that a man of little 
experience may in all cases be correct in the 
estimates that he furnishes and that he may be 
able to draw up his contracts with safety, we 



58 

give, in the appendix, a group of ordinary con- 
tracts intended for practical use. 

IV. The value of material is worthy of atten- 
tion. If we take the constant value which the 
process of melting at $1.16 per ton gives in our 
example, from the total amount in the register, 
the remainder, which is closely connected with 
the productive wages, must rise and fall with 
and should not exceed on the average 8 per cent, 
of the latter. By referring to our table, we will 
find that we were not at fault in our accounts 
for the months of July, August, September and 
October, for our business was in a normal condi- 
tion, and we had no need to seek for opportuni- 
ties of bettering it. In the month of January, 
however, when these expenses were $3.30 — 
$1.16 = $2.14, or within 15^ per cent, of the pro- 
ductive wages a change had to be inaugurated. 
Here, as something unusual must have occurred 
or come to the surface, we must examine into it 
and find out what it was. For this purpo.se we 
Avill consider every item that came in the 
monthly total from the books. Well then we 
straightway find, that the consumption of fuel 
had reached an enormous height, and we must 
satisfy ourselves upon this head, for we naturally 
say that it ought only to have been so and so, 
corresponding to the output, so that this in- 
creased consumption must have some other 
cause. Reasons for this increased consumption 
could then be given as: 



59 

(a) Cold, and heavy frosts, whicli rendered the 
heating of the moulding room necessary during 
a large part of the month, in order that the 
moulds might not freeze. 

(6) To frequent casting, where most of the 
pourings are for small articles of little weight 
per piece, hence a large quantity of charging 
coke to a small weight of castings is used, so 
that the cost of melting is somewhat in- 
creased. 

Having determined these two reasons, it is 
clear that we can obviate the first cause, due to 
frost, a little; we must straightway see if it is 
possible to place our flasks nearer together, to 
lay aside the moulds near the doors and open- 
ings and in this way, with the precautions that 
the nature of each case will suggest, limit the 
heating of the moulding room to the lowest pos- 
sible figure, in order to save fuel, and yet it 
should be carefully borne in mind that there is 
no economy in having a cold workroom during 
the day. Care should be taken to have the win- 
dows and doors in good order and tight, and all 
broken glass replaced. 

In the second case, we have a remedy in not 
casting unless we have a certain weight to pour, 
whereby the number of casting days are de- 
creased and our ra^io changes for the better. 

If we should still find a somewhat too great 
consumption of auxilliary materials, as core 
materials, nails, chaplets, straw, wood, etc,, this 



60 

too must be carefully examined and its unreason- 
able waste checked and corrected. 

It is in this way that the increase of our ex- 
penses for material may be again decreased, 
until our business resumes its normal status, as 
far as the corrective power lies within us. 

V. and VI. Business Expenses, Interest, Sala- 
ries, etc., which are not usually subject to any 
fluctuation, we may put together. Their debit 
value is that amount which we established in 
our example at 0.83. We can take this amount 
as constant, since we may consider it as already 
reduced to the lowest and closest figures. Here 
too belong the expenses for cartage, stores, pro- 
duction of steam (coal and water), maintenance 
of buildings and machinery, lighting, miscel- 
laneous expenses, etc. 

On the other hand, should the figures of our 
register continually, or even occasionally, ex- 
ceed our average value, so that it happens that 
our monthly balance finally shows a business 
deficit, even though the business of our estab- 
lishmefnt might be good, whereas the prices 
received might be too low for carrying on the 
business profitably, then the ratio which repre- 
sents our business factor must be reduced to the 
lowest possible figure by a cutting down of the 
necessary productive wages and those embraced 
in the constant expenses, to the lowest possible 
point consistent with the maintenance and 
necessities of our establishment. Hence sala- 



Gl 

ries must be reduced, situations resigned, main- 
tenance of buildings, and especially repairs, 
must remain limited to those that are absolutely 
necessary, etc., provided, that it does not inter- 
fere with the even tenor of our management. 
For example, it has already been ascertained 

that the expense per month lli^ = $100, and 

12 

the constants = fjj^ = $650. We see then, 

la 

that if we multiply our productive wages for July 
by 0.83, that the result 12.60.x .83 = 10.46 is 
higher than need be, whereas it proves itself to 
have been 0.90 + 5.90 = 6.80, showing that Ave 
have been doing a profitable business. 

VII. Cleaning wages. — Where these, like our 
contract wages, enter into our calculation, they 
can undoubtedly influence the result, since then 
the difference arising from our average debits 
would not be increased, and the mere nominal 
variations could easily be regulated by the dis- 
charge of workmen. Here then the introduction 
of contract labor is the most direct means for 
maintaining our register coefficient constant. In 
this case also Ave giVe an ordinary contract in the 
appendix. 

VIII. Day Wages. — These occupy a large por- 
tion of the attention of business men. Their 
amount comprises even in moderately large 
foundries, three different activities, and can 
therefore be less easily regulated than our regis- 



62 

ter frequently shows to be desirable. These 
wages comprise those that are paid within the 
moulding room, outside, and for the service of 
the cupola. Discharge of the workmen where 
it seems expedient is the only means of regula- 
tion, whenever our register indicates the ne- 
cessity. 

With the largest of the three, we can, by a 
pro rata adjustment, place a limit on its increase 
once for all. This is taken from the share of the 
melting expense, which, in our example, has 
been placed at an average of $1.20 per ton. "We 
have already determined that the breaking up of 
the pigs, the maintenance and service of the 
cupola, the smearing of the spout and ladles and 
the removal of the furnace refuse is to be reck- 
oned under this head. Since these services, 
especially in small or moderately large foun- 
dries, may be performed by a distinct class 
of laborers, and where especial skill is required 
they may be very easily contracted for on a 
pro rata basis. Here too, we would direct the 
attention of the beginner to the assistance that 
may be obtained from the appendix of this 
pamphlet. 

IX. The expense for patterns should remain a 
constant quantity relative to the weight of small 
article produced. It therefore rises and falls, 
and causes thereby in a decreasing business, our 
greatest anxiety, since the amount, at other 
times enormous, increases, and our whole busi- 



63 

ness is unable to lower its ratio. Having seen 
that the amount for July and September, for 
instance, has only just exceeded the normal con- 
sumption of wood and other materials, still, as 
3.70 instead of the calculated average result of 
3.37, has been reached, we must undoubtedly 
say to ourselves, that if an improvement in these 
figures is not attained at the next examination, 
there must be an immediate discharge of some 
of the pattern makers and to th6 extent that the 
amount of our estimate for our final average 
requires. An increase of business coming in 
shortly afterwards, one can, by working over 
time, easily extricate himself from the difficulty. 
Again, we find in our register the amount $4.04 
•as the expense of pattern niaking for the month 
of August. An examination at this point would 
have shown, that no discrepancy existed in our 
business, for the amount remained normal and 
has not varied materially from the average calcu- 
lated amount; for the regular books from which 
the amount is taken, contain, as well as the 
wages of the pattern makers, the consumption of 
wood, glue, shellac, pencils, tools, etc., and we 
have there found that the account is burdened 
with an item for tlie purchase of wood for pat- 
terns, which will serve for a number of months 
to come, so that the irregularity produced was a 
specious one. We have, then, no reason for 
retrenchments, for later the difference will be 
equalized by decreased expense, as it is in reality 



64 

shown to be tlie case in the later months of our 
register. 

The introduction of a stipulated price for the 
maintenance and rencAval of the necessary pat- 
terns is very desirable. We may then have our 
debit values as constant as we desire. The 
author has a contract with his foreman pattern 
maker, whereby the wood and tools are furnished 
gratis, and the adaptation of the patterns, as far 
as it is possible by change of present patterns, 
is done at a specified amount per ton of cast- 
ings. The employment and paying of the work- 
men is then thrown into the hands of the fore- 
man. Although a man with five workmen, works 
most of the time himself, it has not yet hap- 
pened that the contractor has been short at the 
end of the year, or that he has, up to this time, 
been compelled to work any material overtime. 
In an establishment turning out a large quantity 
of coarse castings, and which furthermore, rela- 
tively to the ordinary or occasional manufacture 
of small wares, requires little pattern making, 
these goods must be kept separate, as has already 
been shown in our sclieme for ascertaining the 
cost of pattern making. For the construction of 
new patterns we may contract with tlie foreman 
and agree upon a proportional price. Should 
the demands appear too high, we can justly 
stipulate that the contractor must either work 
for a fixed price, wherein a certain guarantee of 
a minimum receipt is given him for the average 



65 

of a twelve month'is balance, or, on the other 
hand we reserve the right to have our new pat- 
terns made in any way that we may consider 
cheaper. 

By reference to our previous results, we 
have found that the wages bear a ratio of 1 to 
if(i to our expenses for wood and material. The 
author has contracted with his foreman for his 
pattern making, and has carried it out with the 
best of satisfaction to both parties. The tenor 
of the contract may be found in our appendix 
with the other contracts placed there for optional 
imitation. 

X. Depreciation. This may be considered as a 
fixed amount and is, according to our example 
already given, $1,400 per annum, or $116§ per 
month. We have also found that its average 
value should be about 13 per cent, of a certain 
minimum of present productive wages and that 
the latter are given at $875 per month. We 
therefore take our monthly amount at $116 in- 
stead of that given and then divide hj our total 
monthly production of castings; whence we ob- 
tain for July, for instance: ^g^' = $1.84 per ton 
as the necessary quota of depreciation, and in 
this way we form our final register amount. The 
debit amount of depreciation must average 13 
per cent, of the productive wages for the calcu- 
lation of our proposed basis. We enter the 
amount as here deduced in our register, just as 
we have done bj^ the other items. 



66 

By observation upon those things which our 
register shows, we have gained the information 
by which many considerations, data and influ- 
ences may, by and by, afford us figures relative to 
our business organization which should then be 
placed under the proper heading. This obser- 
vation is possible for us under the circumstances 
of ordinary business and will remain so fixed in 
the inner consciousness that it thereby^ becomes 
a kind of commercial barometer. A careful ob- 
servation and manipulation of this barometer 
belongs then to the province of the managing 
engineer. He will also find from his register 
that he need only lay the groundwork of a gen- 
eral average for a calculation of the proposed 
basis, as he will find that winter and frost can 
essentially change his data without his inter- 
ference and that the activity and effectiveness of 
the workmen is different in winter from in sum- 
mer. Consequently he will say to himself, like 
a wise husbandman: "I must sow bountifully in 
summer that there may remain something over 
from the harvest for winter's consumption." On 
which account he will reckon in accordance with 
his average, although it may prove itself un- 
necessarily high in summer, while in winter the 
opposite will be the case. 

Now, all the items of our register are entered, 
being based upon a ton's production, and as they 
were taken direct from the books and are not 
rejiresented approximately, but as they really 



67 

are, we can then, by the mere addition of all 
these items, straightway determine what the 
production of castings has really cost us for each 
month on the average. We can then determine 
the receipts for the rough castings for the whole 
or the greater part of the production per month, 
and by a simple division also ascertain the re- 
ceipts per ton, and then by a comparison show 
how much has been made or lost per ton. Since 
we already know our total production, the total 
result for the month is readily given. In many 
cases, ho^^l^er, it would be impossible for the 
book-keepers to furnish the monthly figures 
with absolute accuracy, especially on account of 
the difficulty of making the compilations from 
the regular books, because of the ignorance of 
the clerks of their necessities; in such cases it is 
better, as has already been pointed out, to resort 
to approximate results. We therefore give up 
perfect accuracy in our balance, in order that it 
may be determiaed with less trouble, and be- 
cause for our purposes, it will be accurate enough 
without any figures from the books. 

THE BOOKS. 

We can easily see that there is very little neces- 
sity for technical book-keeping, except to deter- 
mine as accurately as possible the distribution 
of the expenditures obtained from the regular 
books in such a way and under such headings as 



68 

we may need for the purpose of a techni- 
cal calculation, and for the perfect under- 
standing at all times of the prevailing tenor of 
the business. 

It is also preferable that all those items which 
are considered as bearing upon the foundry 
work, should be entered in such shape as the 
technical considerations have determined to be 
most expedient. 

Div. I. The pig and scrap iron, including 
all relative expenses as freight charges, taxes, 
cartage, etc. 

Div. II. The productive wages, as wages of 
sand and loam moulders, core makers, appren- 
tices and foremen, especially if the latter, as is 
usually the case in small foundries, is a work- 
man. The wages of the sand mixers and help- 
ers in core making belong to the division of 
day wages. 

Div. III. The foundry materials, as wood and 
coal for firing the cupola, fuel for heating or 
drying stoves for moulds and plates, also coal and 
coke in the ordinary run of work as well as what 
is used for melting purposes, (steam, workroom 
and office heating do not belong here) coal dust, 
graphite, sand, dung, stone and brick for loam 
moulding, firebrick and clay, moulding tools as 
shovels, riddles, brushes etc., oil for hand lamps, 
material for flasks and the material and work- 
men's wages for repairing the same, as well as the 
changes for the requisite construction for mak- 



69 

iug especial moulds, also the wages i'or strikers, 
blacksmiths and moulders employed in the work, 
as well as the necessary wrought- iron, screws, 
etc., and finally the hammers, chisels and wire 
brushes of the casting cleaners. 

[N. B. Entirely new construction of necessary 
flasks, provided they are for continual and gen- 
eral use, belong to the domain of increase of 
business and form therefore material for inven- 
tory, which is quite subject to depreciation. On 
the other hand, the expense for flasks and the 
construction of some special piece of work must 
be taken from the moulding account and con- 
signed as expense to Div. IV, except that the 
raw material used must be deduced as its 
value has not been impaired and it may be 
used again. 1 

There further comes under Division III, the 
consumption of core rods, nails, pencils and 
chaplets, as well as the renewal of old articles 
like chains, drying plates, etc., as Avell as the 
consumption of water in the foundry. - 

Division IV. Business, as salary for store- 
keeper, and wages of storehouse porters, main- 
tenance of buildings, machines and foundry 
cranes, sick funds, taxes, postage, assessments 
and legal expenses, ofiice utensils, heating of 
workshop and ofQce, general lighting of build- 
ings, expense for steam in coal and wood, water 
and fireman's wages, the general plant expenses, 
means of transportation, carts, wagons, tools, 



70 

tracks, hoisting and weigliing apparatus, truck- 
man's wages, lubricating oil, painting materi- 
als, etc., etc. 

Division V. Constant expenses, as salaries 
for officers and the superintendent, pro- 
vided the latter is not placed in with the 
former, interest on borrowed capital, dis- 
counts, etc. 

Division VI. Wages for cleaning. This does 
not include the consumption of materials, as 
steel, hammers, brushes, etc., since these have 
already been included under Division IV. 

Division VII. The day wages, include among 
others those for helpers in the foundry, 
such as sand mixers, core turners, porters, 
cupola tenders, and the .expense of break- 
ing the pigs, also the workmen who are em- 
ployed in moving material in the molding 
room. 

Division VIII. Patternmaking , including fore- 
men, apprentices and the men employed in 
making flasks. 

Division IX. Carpentry utensils, implements, 
as wood, shellac, glue, nails, screws, oil, sand- 
paper, and expenses for files and tools, and 
whatever may be consumed in any Avay either 
directly or indirectly. 

Such a system of keeping an account of all 
expenses, would give the greatest accuracy at- 
tainable in making an estimate as well as for 
striking off a balance. 



71 

EXAMPLE OF AN ESTIMATE WHEN A 
MOULDING MACHINE IS USED. 

In making a specialty of foundry work, in 
perfectly adapting the plant for the manufacture 
of certain articles, in working with moulding- 
machines, and by obtaining simple proportional 
data for the making of the moulds with the work- 
men, and when the difference between i^roduc- 
tive wages ceases to exist, one must exercise the 
greatest care at every step, in making a correct 
estimate upon a given article, aud especially in 
the introduction and adaptation of a special 
article system into the present methods of our 
foundry practice. In order, then, to take some 
definite position and point out the course that 
should be followed, we make use of this exam- 
ple for 

Making Pipe ivith a Moulding Machine. 

It may be considered expedient for a foundry 
already in existence, to introduce the manufac- 
ture of some article, which may be undertaken 
when the ordinary foundry work slackens or is 
insufficient to afford the necessary occupation to 
the men. The new specialty should serve to fill 
up the blank which exists, since the necessary 
expenditure of productive wages, which we have 
learned are necessary for the maintenance of our 
business, is diminished if the work falls off for 
an instant. The manufacture, for stock of a 



72 

quantity of articles, cannot under such circum- 
stances stand in the way of the necessary work, 
so that the proprietor may say: "I can even 
eventually afford to sell my wares without any 
profit, if by this new industry I can protect my- 
self from all the loss which I would sustain by 
the irregularity of my business, and the proba- 
bilities are that I may even make something 
by it." 

We will pre-suppose that the new industry will 
be carried on, for the most part, without an in- 
crease of our constants, and, as has been said, 
only for the sake of filling up any gaps in the 
business. 

We choose the most saleable kinds of flanged 
and socketed water pipes of, say, 2| inches, 3 
inches, SJ inches, 4 inches and 5 inches diameter, 
and proceed to make them with a moulding ma- 
chine. Then we examine the smaller and larger 
special sizes, and provide ourselves with the 
necessary patterns of those which we wish to 
adopt; we proceed to the formation of an esti- 
mate, which will give, in accordance with our 
purpose the information desired, relative to cost 
as opposed to saleability. 

Well we find that for the manufacture of the 
five sizes of pipes, mentioned, we shall need two 
molding machines, in order to procure the great- 
est economy. This number need not necessarily 
encroach upon our moulding floor, since they 
may be kept out of the way in the corners. 



73 

To move such a machine on a lorry and to un- 
load it by means of a foundry crane, requires 
only a few moments of time. The half- patterns 
for the machine are of iron and rest upon mova- 
ble supports, which can be raised and lowered 
by means of a lever, thereby removing the pat- 
tern from the mould. The sand mould is thus 
obtained in a faultless condition, and can be 
immediately blackened, and the flasks quickly 
taken to the kiln carriages. The manipulation 
is so simple and rapid, and no ordinary system 
of molding can compare with this for cheapness 
in running expenses and rapidity of production ; 
wherefore we may consider it especially suitable 
for auxilliary use in our foundry for the pur- 
poses specified. When the drying carriages are 
loaded and the moulds are dried, the removal of 
the flasks and the placing of the cores is the 
next step to be taken, then comes the placing in 
the casting pit, which should be conveniently 
located, and which, for our purpose, we will 
consider to be capacious enough for the recep- 
tion of twenty flasks or forty pipes, and placed 
near the wall of the building, yet so that a crane 
swings over it. Its size, so tliat it may not inter- 
fere with the regular work of the foundry, should 
be, say, 25 feet by 2^, or 13 by 5 feet, with a depth 
of 64 feet. We prefer a shallow pit because it 
requires less time for the placing and removal 
of the flasks, and the pouring, which is accomp- 
lished with the crane, causes us no difficulty. 



We will thus obtain forty pipes of 3 inches 
diameter at a single casting. 

We have taken this quantity as the basis of our 
requirements, and we therefore need, because we 
should always mould exactly the same quantity 
on the day previous to that on which we cast, a 
number of simple flasks for the forty pipes, or 
tAventy flasks holding two pipes each. Further, 
we need flasks of two sizes, one for pipe of 2| 
inches, 3 inches, and 3^ inches diameter, and 
another for those of 4 inches and 5 inches. 

We need then, 

20 complete two-part fl?sks for 2% in. to 3)^ in. 

pipe, at $16.00 $ 320.00 

20 complete two-part flasks for 4 in. to 5 in pipe, 

at $18 . 00 360 . 00 

40 pieces IJ^in. gas pipe for core spindles at S2. 50 100.00 

40 " 2 in. " " " " " 3.20 128.00 

Finishing and work upon the 40 flasks at $2.00. . 80.00 

100 screws or clamps, 200 lbs 10.00 

Turning and drilling the core spindles, setting 

up and driving rings 80.00 

Molding machines 1,200.00 

Making casting pit and walling same 65.00 

1 Drying oven lorrv 35 . 00 

1 Track 40 feet long 12.00 

1 Frame for core turning 15.00 

Blacking pots, tools, etc 5.00 

Total cost of the addition $2,410.00 

With these facilities we can manufacture 40 
pipes of 3 inches diameter, which in socketed 
pipe at 120 lbs. each would weigh 4,800 lbs. We can 
make twice as many pipes with our facilities, but 
we have taken it for granted that our foundry is 
not to be enlarged, no local changes and no 



75 

business contemplated which will raise oiir con- 
stant expenses, wherefore no further increase of 
kilns, tracks, etc., and consequent derangement 
of the other business is to be permitted. 

Our experience has shown that where there is 
a crane for raising and lowering the flasks and 
placing them in the pit, one experienced moul- 
der and a coremaker with five laborers as help- 
ers are required for making the moulds and cores 
for forty pipes 3 inches diameter, and that the 
crew consisting of seven men can complete the 
task so that the pouring of the pipe takes place 
every alternate day, one being occupied in 
moulding and the others in casting and getting 
out the work. For a complete estimate of the 
wages without counting those to be deducted for 
bad castings, we have 

For the moulder as boss of the work, for the job at 

$3,25 per day $6. 50 

For the coremaker at $2.25 per day 4.50 

For five helpers at $1.50 per day 15.00 

$26.00 

For forty pipes of 3 inches diameter or .65 
cents per piece. Estimating other dimensions 
in proportion, we have: 

For 2% inch pipe 60c. each! 

3 inch pipe 65c. each | including 

3 }2 inch pipe 76c. each ^ 

4 inch pipe... 86c. each | cores. 

5 inch pipe $1.08 eachj 

For flanged pipe, with smooth flanges without 
bolt holes, we may estimate on about 10 cents 
more per piece. 



76 

Now in order to estimate upon our pipe, we 
must recall the items found and tabulated for 
our general ratio, and endeavor to use these on 
this particular case. 

Our total cost in productive and day wages for 
our pipe of 3 inches diameter and 120 pounds 
weight, amounts to 65 cents per piece or $10.63 
per ton. 

Then as our pig iron costs $22.50 laid down, we 
take, for our estimate: 

Iron $22.50 

Waste 8 per cent 1.80 

Cost of melting 2.33 

Cost of cleaning 1.50 

Cost of patternmaking 0.00 

Day wages 2.80 

$30.93 

The productive wages for our pipe, deducting 
the day wages, since we can see no reason why 
the mutual values and dependent ratios as found 
to be correct for our other business, should not 
be recognized as a peculiarity of all foundry 
work, and may be placed at $10.63 — $2.80 = 
$7.83, which amount we can consider as produc- 
tive wages in our estimate, provided that all ex- 
penses were covered by our payment as noted. 
If the latter is not the case, we may then reckon 
as extra the transfer of the pipe from the foun- 
dry to the cleaning floor, the loading of the same 
as well as the mixing of the moulding sand. If 
we appraise these expenses correctly it will be 
in the neighborhood of $0.75. This makes our 



77 

expenditure for productive wages at $10.63 — 
$2.80 + $0.75 = $8.58, hence our estimate is com- 
plete; if we take this as a basis, instead of that 
for the previously determined and established 
business in column I with the business factor at 
.(')0 and depreciation at .10, and tabulate as fol- 
lows: 

Amount brought forward $30.93 

Productive wages 8. 58 

Eight per cent, auxilliary 45 

Depreciation, .10 86 

Business factor .60 5.15 



Actual cost per ton $45.97 

To this must be added that portion of the 
extra depreciation which, in consequence of the 
increase in our plant of $2,410 falls with the 5 
per cent, proiat upon our total of productive 
wages. In our previous investigations we have 
found these to be from .10 to .21 of the wages, 
and have disposed of them elsewhere in our cal- 
culation. We should maintain the same un- 
changed, since, in the course of our improve- 
ments, we are in a position to compare our ex- 
penditure for productive wages with our prev- 
ious general average, we «till proceed with our 
business upon the same basis as that laid down 
in the column which we have indicated as No. I, 
where the depreciation was found to be .10 times 
the resulting increase of wages. 

In our new undertaking we should closely ob- 
serve, whether the consumption of tools, as core 
spindles, screws, and flasks through excessive 



78 

usage may not tend to essentially raise the aver- 
age depreciation ratio. In fact we can see at a 
glance that this must be so; the continued daily 
heating to a glow of the core spindles, the wear 
on the screws, etc., as well as on the moulding 
flasks, cannot fall for the first, much below 20 per 
cent, and for the latter below 10 per cent. We 
will therefore be not far out of the way, if we 
add a 10 per cent, of wear to the total of our ad- 
dition and then add 5 per cent, more to our es- 
timate. Then, if our moulding machine should 
be at work at least three months out of the year, 
we would, deducting 10 per cent, for bad cast- 
ings have made 1,350 pipes of 3 inches diameter 
with an expense of productive wages of $877.50 
and thereby for three months added a further 
depreciation of 5 per cent, of $2,410, the outlay 

for the addition; therefore l^^i^^ = $30.12 or 

4 

.03 times the wages for productive work. 

Our actual cost therefore is: 

Amount brought forward $45.97 

Super-depreciation 26 

$46.23 

A profit of 5 per cent, corresponding to the 
productive wages laid down in column I of our 
previous examples, amounts to .08 times the 
wages. For such cases then we must still add 
$8.58 X .08 = $0.69, wherefore our 3 inch pipe is 
placed at $46.92 per ton, with the price of pig 



79 

iron at $22.50 for tlie material used. It may here 
be remarked, that for a special plant and busi- 
ness, the productive wages taken as a basis in 
our example may be lowered; for the purpose of 
illustration, however, it is always better to esti- 
mate them a little higher than they are really 
found to be in practice. 



APPENDIX, 



For general data in bidding, that have shown 
themselves necessary and useful for our purpose 
in making an estimate, we insert here a series of 
contracts, which may be either directly used, 
or may be' made useful by changes correspond- 
ing to the ratio and business under considera- 
tion. We present them under the various heads 
that bear directly and indirectly upon the foun- 
dry. 

CONTKACTS. 

CONTRACT WITH THE FOEEMAN PATTERN-MAKER. 

I. A. undertakes all the repairing and likewise 
the renewal of all patterns on hand, provided 
they belong to the foundry department, at the 
fixed price of $ — per ton of castings produced. 

II. The making of new patterns does not fall 
within the contract but will be agreed upon and 
paid for separately. 

III. For the maintenance of all patterns speci- 
fied- under I, said A. is to be paid. 

(a) $— per ton for socket pipe and (&) $— per 
ton for other products. 



82 

IV. We guarantee to said A. a minimum re- 
ceipt of $ — per month, on condition that for all 
extra service yielding over $— one-half shall be 
paid to him, and the other half remain in the 
business. 

V. The final settlement with said A. shall be 
made on the first of July instead of from month 
to month; and finally if he should leave his place 
he is to receive the monthly excess that is due 
together with $ — , but on the other hand if no 
surplus should be paid, he is to receive his $ — 
as payment. Should said A. at said date of July 
1, or at the time of his leaving our service, be in 
arrears, the establishment is to bear the loss. 

VI. All repairs of tools, cars, changes in shop 
contrivances, construction of flasks for the foun- 
dry, are among the duties of the said A, and the 
payment for the same is already provided for in 
the prices given in a and b under III. 

VII. All castings which are needed in the 
works are exempt from any estimate of output, 
and the payment for them is likewise comprised 
in the prices quoted under III for saleable goods. 

VIII. The expenses for the construction of 
new patterns belong to an independent agree- 
ment, or an agreement upon certain prices 
determined by the work to be done. The estab- 
lishment is therefore at liberty to have new 
patterns made in such a manner as seems ad- 
visable. 

A repeated payment for these new patterns 



83 

beyond the stipulated price, will not be permit- 
ted according to the scale under III, whatever 
the duration of the order or the total output 
may be, wherein the said patterns may be 
used. 

A later use, as a second commission, falls under 
the agreement made in III, and will be paid for 
as therein stipulated. 

IX. All wood and tools, including paint, shel- 
lac, glue, nails and shop tools, will be supplied 
to the said A. on the part of the establishment 
free of charge. 

X. The employment of pattern makers re- 
mains with the said A., likewise their wages, 
still the general order and discipline of the 
establishment shall control A. as well as his 
workmen. 

XI. Finally the said A. is to keep an exact 
account of the expense of maintaining the pat- 
terns. 

cOntkact with cleaneks. 

Here the prices conform on the one hand to 
the weight of the article, and on the other to its 
shape and complicatedness. In regard to the 
latter we may say that the productive wages of 
the article may be placed at the base of the scale, 
since the simpler forms yield a lower and the 
more complicated a higher rate of moulders' 
wages. We make use of the following scale 



84 

which should be made to correspond to an av- 
erage price of wages of from $1.25 to $1.50 per 
day. Agreement for cleaning castings per ton: 

.75 With productive wages at from $ 2.00 to $ 6.00 
1.00 " " •' " " 6.00 to 10.00 

1.25 " " " " " 10.00 to 14.00 

1.50 " " " " " 14.00 to 20.00 

CONTEACT WITH CUPOIjA WOEKMEN. 

For breaking up of the pigs, the serving of the 
cupola, the repairing and regular care of the 
melting room, the removal of the dump, as well 
as the banking of the plates and lining up, the 
following prices may serve as a guide to a mean 
daily pay of from $1.50 to $2.25 per ton melted: 

For melting down 15 to 20 tons $1.75 

" 20 to 25 "- 1.50 

" 25 to 30 " 1.25 

" " " 30 to 35 " 1.00 

" " " over 35 " 75 

The meltings are considered as such for a cer- 
tain stipulated time, say the total weight for a 
wage period of 14 days and the agreement thus 
indicates the amount to be taken as an average 
for the determination of the payment. 



STEM USING; 

OR, 

STEAM Engine practice. 

By the Late CHARLES A. SMITH, C. E., Professor of 
Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, Mo. 

il handsnmEly baund nctavn vdIuiiie of 
SDD pages and nver SnD illustratiniis, 

CONTENTS. 

CHAP. I. On the Nature of Heat and the Prop- 
erties of Steam. 

II. On Valve Gear. 

III. The Quantity of Steam which might 
be, and which is used. 

IV. On the Indicator, the Indicator Dia- 
gram and the Different Glasses of 
Engines. 

V. The Experiments of Him and Hal- 
lauer. 

VI. Steam Heating. 

Prof. Smith -was g-enerally recog-nlzed as a com- 
petent authority on the use of steam. 

Price, - - - . $3.00. 

Steam Making, ... 2.50. 

«®° We will send StEam Using tn any ad- 
dress and the American Engineerj nne 
year, for - - - ^G.SD 

Address THE AMERICAN ENGINEER, 

126 Washington St., Chicago. 



opinions of the. fr&ss. 



"Steam Making" is a thoroughly good work. It treats of the 
nature of heat, has some excellent remarks upon the proper- 
ties of steam, treats the greatly mooted subject of combustion 
in a rational manner, and describes the various types of boil- 
ers and discusses their various good or bad points in a thor- 
oughly impartial spirit.— T/ie Locomotive. 

"Steam Making" aims to present in condensed form the best 
experience in modern boiler practice. Its treatment of the 
subjects of combustion, firing, design, and construction of 
boilers, and the table of experiments with boilers, show good 
judgment and a broad comprehension of this field of investi- 
gation.— 5'cien^(/?c American. 

Those in search of an interesting presentation of modern 
boiler practice will find the above work to meet their require- 
ments in a very satisfactory manner.— ilfe^a^ Worker. 

The merits of "Steam Making" are its eminently practical 
character and the careful presentation of those fundamental 
principles upon which successful practice depends.- Fan 
Notrand's Engineering Magazine. 

The works are thoroughly and completely practical, by an 
eminently practical, clear-headed man, and every engineer 
who desires to excel will find here the material carefully col- 
lected by a man thoroughly conversant with his subject.— 
Manufacturers' Gazette. 

In every page of Prof. Smith's work there shines forth evi- 
dence of his thorough grasp of the subject upon which he has 
so ably written ; evidence not merely of his theoretical knowl- 
edge, but also of his practical acquaintance with the art of 
steam using, combined with painstaking care which was pos- 
sessed by the author. We anticipate they will long remain as 
valuable works of engineering xeievence.— Mechanical World, 
London, England. 

Young engineers especially, can hardly find more valuable 
assistance in acquiring thorough knowledge of the subject in 
which they are so greatly interested than what may be ob- 
tained from a study of Professor Smith's vfox^s.— Cincinnati 
Artisan. 

LOVEK.J 



OPINIONS OF THE P, 



wm. 



003 3i8 



These two works comprise a stuc 
use of steam which should be in 
user and engineer.— C'o^^on, Wool 

These two books, embodying the life study of the author, 
may be justly regarded as valuable companions to all engi- 
neers, machinists and steam osers Sil\]£e.—31illing World. 

As few good works on boilers are now available, the book 
will prove a welcome source of information, and that of Steam 
Using of the utmobt piactical \alue.— Iron Age. 

The books are characteristic of the author, being practical 
treatises for practical men, stating in a short, clear way t\xyj 
points to be avoided and those to be recommended in the de- 
sign of boilers and engines, to give a maximum eflticiency and 
economy in the making and use of steam —Scientific Press. 

For clearness of treatment, profusenese of illustration and 
general attractiveness of appearance, these volumes are wor- 
thy a place alongside the best specimens of modern technical 
literature.— /ro?i Trade Review. 

Thefee books cover their peculiar field in a comprehensive 
manner, and form to-day, we believe, the most authorita- 
tive treatment of steam making and using in the English 
language.— i?aiZitiai/ Revieiv. 

The author has shown a deep and comprehensive study of 
his subject, and painstaking care in the presentation of It to 
its readers. We therefore do not hesitate to say the works 
should find a welcome place in every engineer's and steam - 
user's lihvary.— Industrial World. 

The material is handled in the concise and careful manner 
characteristic of Prof. Smith. The books are profusely and 
handsomely illustrated and their contents must find a hearty 
welcome among those to whom they are addressed.— ^7?{7i- 
neering JS'eics. 

Address ilie 

AMERICAN ENGINEE|, ^ 

126 Washington St., Chie|ifcJ^jUr 



